At 15:31 12/15/01, you wrote:
And there are a couple of us smack dab in the middle of the rest
of you here in Iowa.
Or is that the middle of nowhere?
I know you all are dying to see my collection of silver-nosed
lenses.
AG-Schnozz.
The mid-west spans a large region. "Nowhere" is equally distributed
everywhere in the mid-west. I'm not going to let Iowans make claim to
being somewhere more nowhere than the rest of us also nowhere, but
somewhere else. The playing field for that is very level across the entire
region.
A look at the map shows eastern Iowa *is* close to its geographic center,
presuming nowhere spans Ohio to Nebraska, and Kansas to Minnesota and the
Dakotas. Oklahoma, while it can also claim nowhere status, looks like a
stretch.
From the east end (Ohio and anywhere that's nowhere, but closer), I-80,
I-70/I-74/I-80, or I-74/I-80 gets you there. Avoiding driving through the
somewhere of Chicago saves considerable time even if it adds a few
miles. Indianapolis claims freeway congestion, but it's only a fourth-rate
"wanna-be." Notable exceptions: "Race Day" for the Indy 500 and Brickyard
400.
I just drove through Iowa and Nebraska on I-80 about a month ago (multiple
destinations in Utah and California). Stopped a couple of times in Wyoming
during my return to make some landscape shots. This is very hazardous
along an interstate highway (likely illegal also) and it's the reason I
didn't do it in Nebraska or Iowa, although I'm kicking myself now for not
doing it. It was clear sky and a magnificent sunset illuminated the
stubble in corn fields just harvested that day. With the sun only a few
degrees above the horizon, it turned the normally "dirty yellow" stubble
into glowing gold. Contrast this with the sihlouette of a solitary tree,
barn or windmill against the sky. It only lasted about a half
hour. Visions of this beauty and failure to photograph it will haunt me
for a very long time. Next time I'm allowing more travel days and driving
U.S. highways for at least portions of it outside major metro areas, not I-80.
Those who claim the mid-west is a boring "middle of nowhere" expanse of
flat fields haven't learned how to "see" it (or hear it when the corn is
growing). Travel weather is a consideration until Spring. April/May
provides new leaves in varying shades of green.
-- John
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